MySQL integration

[Attila Csipa]

On Wednesday 13 July 2005 15:47, Kralidis,Tom [Burlington] wrote:
> Thanks.  I'm a bit confused.  So the libmygis is not supported in
> MapServer?

AFAIK it isn't.

> So shp2mysql.pl will work but libmygis will not work?

Exactly - the two are very different things even though their names are 
similar.

> Underlying question is how can one with a MySQL 4.1 database store and
> retrieve spatial data with MapServer?

This is described in the Wiki in detail. However - it looks that this wasn't 
clear enough in the wiki article - the mygis module in mapserver is _NOT_ a 
postgis equivalent for mysql NOR does it support mysql 4.1 native spatial 
operations. It is a poor man's sql connector which allows use of attribute 
data in any version of mysql or if you are proficient with SFSQL tools and 
libraries (like JTS for example), editing very simple spatial information, 
most certainly not for maps with large amount of geometries. Another aspect 
is that the mygis module in mapserver also provides join functionality for 
attribute data in mysql tables for template queries.

So basically if you want mysql 4.1 spatial functions, or simply wish to use 
mysql instead of having postgis, this may not be what you need. In that case, 
IIRC there are two choices - GDAL/OGR via an ODBC connector, or Postgis.